A Middlesboro firefighter was arrested Wednesday after he was accused of intentionally exposing his genitals to a 10-year-old boy in a Walmart bathroom, according to media reports. Police say the incident occurred on June 4, WRIL reported. It’s the second arrest this year for Robert Chris England, who was booked into the Bell County Detention Center on a first-degree indecent exposure charge, according to court records. He has a $25,000 cash bond. In May, England was accused of stealing money from the Middlesboro Youth Football League, of which he was the president of at the time, according to WYMT.
2018-08-02T08:42:54-04:00

The dozens of letters sent to U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell paint an image of one of Pikeville’s most respected sons. The letters gush over Brent Lee’s leadership role at First Baptist Church of Pikeville, his professionalism as a banker, and his reputation as a loving father and husband. But on Wednesday, Lee was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. His sentence also includes paying $248,000 in restitution to the bank he defrauded, and serving a supervised release for five years after his prison sentence.
2018-08-02T08:39:52-04:00

Lexington is ranked as the No. 3 safest metro city in the country, according to Safewise.com. In the website’s ranking, determined by the per capita rate of crime for each city with a population greater than 300,000, Lexington trailed only Virginia Beach and Honolulu.
2018-08-02T08:34:35-04:00

President Donald Trump ignited a political frenzy Wednesday when he asked the U.S. attorney general to stop the special investigation into whether his campaign colluded with the Russians, but Kentucky's Republican senators have been silent. Trump tweeted Wednesday that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are being unfair in their investigation and the "Rigged Witch Hunt" should be ended. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would tell the Courier Journal if the senator makes a comment. Two spokespeople for Sen. Rand Paul did not return multiple requests for comment by phone, email and text.
2018-08-02T08:28:44-04:00

Gov. Matt Bevin has appointed a Baptist pastor from Florida and his wife to serve as special advisers on adoption and foster care, about seven months after Bevin's former adoption "czar," also a Baptist pastor, abruptly left a similar job with no explanation. Bevin's office announced Wednesday that Chris and Alicia Johnson, from Clermont, Florida, are joining the governor's office of Faith and Community Based Initiatives to support goals of Bevin, and his wife, Glenna, to advance adoption and foster care reform. The news release did not say how the Johnsons were hired or how much they are to be paid. Dan Dumas, the former adoption "czar," a term Bevin coined for the position, was paid $240,000 a year under a no-bid contract and was awarded a $60,000 "termination" payment when he left state government midway through his first year.
2018-08-02T08:23:57-04:00

Rep. John Yarmuth called President Donald Trump's calls for the U.S. attorney general to stop the special investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election an "obstruction of justice." Trump tweeted Wednesday that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are being unfair in their investigation. Spokespeople for Kentucky's Republican representatives and senators either declined to comment or did not immediately return a request.
2018-08-02T08:20:21-04:00